1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to flue gas cleaning and more particularly to carbon dioxide capture in industrial applications.
2. Background Information
The continued use of carbon based fuels continues to cause atmospheric pollution to rise at an unprecedented rate. While “cleaner” forms of energy have been explored, none of these other forms of energy have been sufficiently developed or disseminated to obtain wide spread use sufficient to replace the present carbon based methodologies. Therefore a variety of technologies and methodologies are currently being sought to attempt to address this issue. However, in attempting to address these issues a variety of other issues and practical and economic realities arise. One of the problems is the presence of varying constituents within a typical flue gas stream. The selective capture, sequestration and removal of these materials all depend upon differing characteristics which may conflict for the capture of other materials. As a result, many scrubbing technologies focus on one or two constituents but allow other pollutants to escape. Other problems arise as various technologies may not lend themselves to practical applications for scale up to millions of pounds of materials that are to be processed in relatively short periods of time (typically an hour). Furthermore, many configurations are economically unfeasible for a variety of reasons. This has led to confusion, disagreement and difficulty in configuring a system and employing a method for a comprehensive pollutant removal system.
Of particular concern in these arrangements is the ability to capture and sequester carbon dioxide. One of the problems with sequestering carbon dioxide is the requirement that carbon dioxide be captured in a relatively pure form before it can be sequestered. The existing CO2 capture technologies are typically not efficient or cost effective when considered in the context of a typical coal-fired power plant. For example, to produce 550 MW of power from coal with 90% CO2 capture using amine scrubbing reduces the power plant electrical generation efficiency from 39.1% to capture and 27.2%. (DOE NETL report 2007/1281 Cost and Performance Baseline for Fossil Energy Plants Volume 1: REV 1: August 2007). Reducing power consumption at a reasonable capital cost is a prerequisite to enable plants to capture and sequester CO2.
The present inventions provide various methodologies for obtaining a resolution in addressing these matters. The present inventions provide methods and systems that offer a substantial reduction in cost and increases in efficiency compared to other proposals that are well known. Furthermore the present invention is more readily adaptable for use in existing industrial applications than many other proposed applications. Additional advantages and novel features of the present invention will be set forth as follows and will be readily apparent from the descriptions and demonstrations set forth herein. Accordingly, the following descriptions of the present invention should be seen as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting in any way.
Various advantages and novel features of the present invention are described herein and will become further readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description. In the preceding and following descriptions we have shown and described only the preferred embodiment of the invention, by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in various respects without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description of the preferred embodiment set forth hereafter are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not restrictive.